Fuel-oil heater



Jan. 24, 1928.

E. H. NELSON FUELOIL HEATER Filed June 30. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR ,'l/z/la a [also/2 BY fis ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 24, 1928UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERIC HUGO NELSON, F MASSIIIILON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE GRISCOM-RUSSELLCOM- PANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

FUEL-OIL HEATER.

Application filed June 30, 1926. Serial No. 119,546.

The present invention relates to heat-exchanging apparatus in generaland resides in certain improvements on the fuel-oil heater disclosed inmy copending application, Serial No. 30,224, filed May 14, 1925.

In certain fields of heat power engineering, such as in naval or marineservice, it is important that all joints in the shell construction offuel-oil heaters be riveted, and

in addition, that no welded joints be exposed anywhere on the exteriorsurface of the apparatus. For this reason, the heater specifi callydescribed in that application is not acceptable for such use,notwithstanding the fact that otherwise the heater is highly successfuland desirable.

. The principal object of the present invention is to obviate theexternal welded joints in the heater of my copending application withoutsacrificing any of the advantages of that construction thereby.

The invention will be further described in connection with theaccompanying drawings, which show the embodiment chosen to be hereindisclosed. It is to be understood,

however, that these drawings and the Subsequent description thereof areonly for the purpose of illustrating one typical form of the presentinvention, and the invention does f not lie solely in the drawings andis not confined thereto. In these drawings,

Fig. 1 is a vertical, central sectional view of a fuel-oil heaterembodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of'the fuel-oil heater;

. Fig. 3 is a section along line 3-3 of Fig. .1, sighting in thedirection of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the joint of the 40 present invention asembodied in the upper part of the fuel-oil heater; and

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the joint of the present invention asembodied in the lower part of the fuel-oil heater.

Referring now more in detail to the drawings by numeral, the improvedheater comprises a shell 1, preferably having riveted seams, (not shown)and surrounding a bundle of heat-transferring tubes 2, which extendlongitudinally of the shell 1 and constitute the heat-transferringsurface of the apparatus, which is in general constructed according tothe principle of my copending application referred to above.

The shell 1 has a flange 15 at one end,

preferably riveted thereto, for the reason that the heater isparticularly intended for use as a naval or marine-type heater.

the other end of the shell, a somewhat simipart in the place and mannershown, thus forming an annular lip 14., in the place shown, andpossessing a sufficient degree of flexibility to absorb and accommodaterelative longitudinal expansion and contraction between the tubes andthe shell. The part by which the flange is directly riveted to the shellis cast, or forged and bent, to form. a collar, as shown, integral withthe rest of the flange.

In order to obviate all exterior welds in the fuel-oil heater, the tubesheets 3 and 4 are shaped and extended as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 to formannular tongues 13 which fit into complementary recesses in the edge ofthe inner periphery of the flanges 15 and 15', which are riveted to theshell 1, and

the tube sheets are joined to the flanges on They are each constructed,as explained, as

an essentially separate annulus, with a kerf or annular groove in theinterior surface in such a lace and of such a size as to form an annu arlip possessing a sutficient de e of flexibility to absorb and accommoate relative longitudinal expansion and contraction between the tubesand the shell.

The caps or heads 6 and 8 are bolted down onto the outer faces of theflanges or expansion rings 15 and l5cover the tongue 13 of the tubesheets by the ring of. bolts 20. A fluid-tight connection between theflanges 15 and 15, the shell 1, and the tube sheets 3 and 4 is thenestablished asshown, with out necessitating any exterior 'weldedjointsatall thereby, as the surface of contact be tween the tube sheet and theabsorbing flanges can quite satisfactorily be gasketed any exteriorwelded joints.

or packed, instead of welded. The under lip 14 of the flange 15 preventsthe tube sheet 3 from dropping into the shell, if it is not otherwisesecured.

If preferred, however, a weld or braze can be substituted for packing atthis sur face of contact-22 between the tube-sheets and the flanges. Thebest forms of welds are the triangular welds shown at 22 in Figs. 1, 4and 5. These welds are provided, however, solely to preservefluid-tightness between the heads, the tube sheets, and the flan es.

T ese preferred Weld seams or brazes, however, are never subjected toany fluid pressure of any kind, inasmuch as they are protected by thecaps or heads 6 and 8 and the flanges 15 and 15', as will be understoodfrom Figs. 4 and 5, and this is the reason why they can be quitesatisfactorily replaced by gaskets or packings, as suggested.

The tube sheet 4, at the other end of the shell, is secured to theflange 15 and the shell in the same way as the sheet 3, and in addition,may be provided with a drain plug 16 which drains the space 17 by meansof the passage 18.

Oil enters the apparatus through the inlet opening 5 provided in theend-closure, head, or upper cap 6 0f the apparatus, which is bolted tothe top of the flange 15, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, and in a similarmanner, cap 8 is bolted to flange ring 15. The oil passes through theinterior of the heat transfer tubes 2 and issues through the outletgpening 7, also in upper cap 6, as shown in ig. 2. In the arrangementhere shown, a 'iepass construction is employed, the 0 eration of whichin directing the flow of t e oil throughout the successive groups oftubes is clearly shown in the drawings, but does not constitute aprincipal object of the present invention, and is therefore notdescribed in detail. 7

Heating steam is admitted to the shell 1 throughthe inlet opening 9 andcirculates about in the shell, coming into direct contact with theexterior surfaces of the heat transferrin tubes 2. The condensate drainsout throng the outlet 10 provided for that urpose. A baflie-plate 11 isalso provide for the purpose of causing a uniform distribution of thesteam upon its enterin the shell.

Hence the shell with the tube s eets at its respective ends and thetubes extending between the tube sheets constitute an essentiallyfluid-tight heat exchange unit without The end-closures, heads, or caps,6 and 8 may be secured to the flanges 15 and 15' in any desired fashion,as, for instance, by bolting them toether. In the embodiment here shown,the flanges 15 and 15' are provided with studs 20. secured in the rings.The heads or caps 6 and 8 are provided with corresponding flanges 19 and19' having in them a series of bolt holes which fit over the respectivestuds 20. Connection between the parts is established by screwing downthe nuts 21 upon the upper threaded portions of the studs 20.

I have described my invention as combined with a heat exchange apparatusof the species disclosed in my co-pending ap lication, but it is to beunderstood from the oregoing description and explanation that myinvention is also combinable with any heat exchange apparatus consistingof two headers, a shell, two tube sheets and a nest of tubes,

and in the resulting heat-exchanger there are no obligatory weldedjoints at all and no external welded joints whatsoever. The optionalinternal welded joint is never su jected to direct fluid pressure of anykind, and thus the apparatus is adapted to exceedingly high pressure andhigh temperature duty. The separate flanges connecting the heads, tubesheets and shell are simple beyond expectation to construct, as it is aneasier mechanical operation to kerf a roove in a separate, flat annulusmade accor ing to the present invention than to kerf the necessaryexpansion space in a sin le piece including the tube sheets integral51B1'6Wii3l1.

I claim:

1. A heat exchanger comprisin a shell, a bundle of tubes therein, a tubes eet at the end of the shell having an annular tongue on its periphery,a head over the tube sheet, and a flange-like member lying completelyoutside of and surroundin said shell between said head and the she Iend, said member comprising an essentially flat annulus of slightlylarger diameter than the shell and having a collar formed on itsshell-end face to fit over the end of the shell, the inner edge of saidannulus having an annular groove therein extendin radially thereof asufficient distance to divide the upper and lower portions of said edgeinto upper and lower annular lips, the upper lip having an annularrecess in the head-side face thereof to receive the annular tongue onsaid tube sheet and the lower lip being connected to the shell by saidcollar..

2. Heat-exchange apparatus of the class described, comprising acontaining shell,heat transfer tubes within the shell, a tube-sheet,said tube-sheet having an annular tongue on its periphery, a headforming with the tubesheet a chamber for distributing fluid to thetubes, and a flange associated with said shell and said tube-sheetbetween the head and the shell-end, said flange being of essentially Illshell-side of said flange, said head-side lip having an annular recessin the outer edge thereof to receive the tongue on said tubesheet, theshell-side lip having a bend therein at right-angles to the annulus forslipping over the shell-end and attaching thereto.

3. A heat exchanger comprising a shell having a bundle of tubes thereina tube sheet at the end of the shell having an annular tongue on itsperiphery, a flange-like member surrounding the shell and having itsgreater portion lying completely outside of the shell, said membercomprising an essentially flat annulus, the inner edge of which has anannular groove therein extending radially thereof a sufiicient distanceto divide the upper and lower portions of said edge into upper and lowerannular lips, the lower lip being connected to the shell and the upperlip having an annular recess in the outer face thereof to receive theannular tongue on said tube sheet, and a head forming with the tubesheet a chamber for distributing fiuid to the tubes, said head having aflat annular clamping face extending over said annular tongue on thetube sheet, and means for clamping said head to said flange-like member.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ERIC HUGO NELSON.

